How to style a photo booth

How to style a photo booth

How to style a photo booth

May 7, 2012Alison Faulkner

I made this video with some amazing hotties a little while back to feature over at You are My Fave. I’m so excited Melanie asked me to help her out while she takes care of her brand new baby! Be sure to hop over and check out Melanie’s blog! But here are a few more of my tips for success in depth.

1. A bold background is a must-have. There are lots of different options, my video suggests a very easy and inexpensive one! Also, Melanie has an amazing round up of background ideas here! My advice is to consider lighting when choosing a wall, especially if you will be indoors. Try to set up near a window, and if you are outside, try to find some shade!

2. Props are a photo booth’s best friend. People feel more comfortable in front of the camera if they have something to hold or partially hide behind. My personal motto is, “It’s not a party without balloons.” Balloons are an inexpensive and oh-so festive prop! Specialty balloons are fun, but even your run-of-the mill balloons add a huge pop! (Pun intended). Fresh flowers, pinwheels, and confetti are some other personal faves.

3. Everyone looks cooler in sunglasses. That’s why head wear makes for super hip photo booth pictures! Hats, glasses and even paper mustaches and beards help people loosen up in front of the camera. Trust me, you’ll be tearing them away.

4. Easy-to-read signs. I make quick signs with fat permanent markers, poster board, and wooden dowels from the craft store. In my video I used neon duct tape to spice up the dowels and attach them to the poster board. If you hate your handwriting you can always stencil your signs or have them printed.

5. Tri-pods make your life easier. When I throw a party I will borrow a camera and set it up on a tri-pod for the photo booth. This way I have my camera to take candid and detail shots, and people aren’t waiting around to take their own photos at the photo booth. But even if the camera is all set up and ready to go, you might want to appoint a friend to stand around and encourage people to take some pictures. It just depends on the crowd. Obviously a crowd of bloggers don’t need to be told twice to take pictures of themselves…but not everyone is as bold.

13 Comments

Alison, you are the bees knees and making this video was the most fun I have had in weeks. Really. (I may need to get out more often.) You better believe we are going to have a photo wall and PROPS for the welcome home party for a certain someone.

Love this idea and how you made it look so simple! But here’s my question: where did u find butcher paper, ESP in assorted colors AND how did u adhere the paper pinwheels? Thanks for your help! Would really love to put one up for an upcoming party on June 2nd!

Hey! Thank you! So I found butcher paper at my local Xpedx store. They are a local paper supply store. Most of the major craft chains don’t carry it! But if you don’t have an Xpedx nearby, usually there are teacher supply stores, and they carry it too for teacher’s bulletin boards! But ti can be a very frustrating thing to find, because places you THINK would have it, don’t! I adhered the pinwheels and by rolling up some duct tape on back! ha, but you could also hang them with some cute string! hope that helps!